


Orphan Red

by moongalaxied



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Galra Keith (Voltron), Gen, Keith (Voltron)-centric, Korean Keith (Voltron), Latino Lance (Voltron), M/M, allura and shiro kill them, keith is uncomfortable and confused, lance sleepwalks and talks abt his family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-07-28
Packaged: 2018-07-26 23:29:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7594588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moongalaxied/pseuds/moongalaxied
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Many</i> things that anyone would think would occupy his brain long enough to force any other kinds of questions out, which they were, but he could never shove that <b>one</b> burning question from his mind, always lying in wait to be answered.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Orphan Red

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first Voltron fic and I decided to make it Keith-centric since I love Keith. He's my favourite; my son.
> 
> P.S: Allura and Shiro don't _actually_ kill Keith and Lance.

Keith thought of many things. What the cause of his perpetually cracking wrist was, how he was going to bond with his lion ( beyond banging on a force field and screaming that he was doing so ), if he could beat his time in the training deck, how they were going to defeat the Galra. _Many_ things that anyone would think would occupy his brain long enough to force any other kinds of questions out, which they were, but he could never shove that **one** burning question from his mind, always lying in wait to be answered. Sure, he pushed it to the back of his mind, punched and broke simulations in the training deck, piloted his lion around the galaxy alone sometimes, despite Allura and Shiro's chastising that he shouldn't be going out there alone, not with Sendak's unrelenting mission to find them. However, Keith was an intelligent man, finding new ways to pass them each time, making sure to go when everyone was asleep ( _although, he never did fly past the observation deck anymore, just in case_ ).

He is still punching, kicking; dodging, breaking in the training deck past midnight, even when his body _screams_ for him to stop, but he pushes himself forward until he feels that his body may snap. The simulation disappears, leaving Keith lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, sweat sticking on his forehead. He frowns. He comes here to clear his mind of thoughts, to feel tired enough to sleep; freed from _that_ question that he wanted to dig his fingers into his head, reach into his mind and pull it out just so he could have some restful peace for once in his life. It was sickening. He shouldn't care so much about people who didn't care enough to take care of their child. Thinking like that at least made it easier for Keith to be angry at shadows amongst the twinkling stars, faceless stardust scattered in a galaxy. Truthfully, he didn't know what happened to his parents, but he didn't remember what happened to either of them.

What he did remember was being told that he was an orphan, his mother died when he was freshly three years old, too young to remember. He remembered switching from foster home to foster home first in Korea, then America ( _he doesn't remember how he transitioned to the other side of the world_ ); an ephemeral transient that left an imprint on the space he left every home he stayed in, unwanted, unloved. He remembered feeling sick of being unwanted at an early age, packing a bag full of clothes, food and toiletries. He remembered being turned away many times just for the colour of his eyes; violet, the same colour as the flower ( _Keith hated that flower_ ). He remembered running, leaving until he came across the desert and he remembered the tiny shack he had been connecting conspiracy theories in, keeping himself occupied whilst he tried to keep himself alive. If anyone asked Keith how he managed to stay alive in a shack for eleven years, he would shrug his shoulders because, truthfully, a seven year old boy shouldn't be able to do those things themselves, but he had. He had taught himself to read, how to write, read books and dictionaries that he had found in libraries and never returned, taught himself how to jump start hover cars, pick pocketed money out of the citizens of the streets to buy food and water.

Then, the Garrison. He joined at seventeen, old enough to be a pilot. He was the best in his class, at the top and he always felt a burning pair of eyes on him for some reason ( _he later realised those burning pair of eyes belonged to Lance, his ridiculous self - proclaimed rivalry with Keith and the envy that followed clearly encompassed him through their short - lived training_ ). Shiro, their old Commanding Officer, he remembers Shiro giving him a smile; a smile that was meant to be reassuring, but worry still pooled in his gut when he left for the Kerberos mission and, months later, he was right to. He remembers his eighteenth birthday coming around the corner, no one to celebrate it with anymore now that Shiro was gone. He began to act out more; ignoring his superiors and talking back, ignoring his crew in simulations and driving himself forward with an inexplicable anger that only Keith could try to describe, but he didn't know how to describe sorrowful anger. There were no words in his dictionaries for that. Eventually, he was asked to leave due to a _discipline issue_.

"Never heard that before," were Keith's last words to the CO, a cold and hard stare plastered on to his face as he ran through all the foster parents who had taken him back to his handlers due to a _discipline issue_ and he could tell from the look in his eyes that he was gathering all of his strength not to _slap_ the boy.

He went back to the shack, back to his conspiracy theories and back to his uninterrupted isolation - then Shiro shot back into his life like a bullet followed by Lance, Hunk and Pidge - then Allura and Coran. Finally, he ended up here, in an Altean castle - ship - castle ship, he guessed. After what felt like hours of recovering, Keith picked himself up off of the training deck floor, feeling a little dizzy when he stood up with the sweat _still_ sticking to his forehead. He grabbed his jacket, slinging it over his shoulders as he slipped his arms through it. The fabric was cool, soothing; a sense of familiarity encompassed him and the question left his mind for a few seconds, but he didn't want to go to bed just yet. Both Shiro and Allura would probably scold him later on for not going to bed at a reasonable time, but Keith had a habit of reminding them that there was no way to know what time it was on Earth. For all they knew, it was eight in the morning, which gave Pidge the incentive to make an Earth clock.

Quietly, he made his way up to the observation deck. Thankfully, no one was in there, Allura and Coran having abandoned their stations. He sat there on the floor, looking for some kind of catharsis in the stars that engulfed the silent blackness of space. Restlessness seemed to be a common trait of Keith's these days, having a relentless insomnia just from a _question_ was strange, but with everyone talking about their families, how they missed their mothers, fathers, how they worried about their siblings - how could he not think about the family that he could have had? He wondered how it would feel to have parents to miss, to have siblings to worry about, but no matter how hard he tried, he could never comprehend it or feel what they felt.

A sigh. He needed to let this go. Something to distract him.

His distraction came in the sound of pattering slippers, the sound tugging Keith by an invisible string to stand up and turn around just to find Lance; his messy brown hair was tousled, eyes tired with sleep. Keith was silent for a while, watching the dishevelled Lance try to work his way through the castle. Keith raised an eyebrow - Lance's eyes were glassed over, he looked zombie - like. His deep blue eyes landed _straight_ on Keith, but he never registered him. Now, he was just confused. Lance got closer and closer - until - well - until he walked straight into the glass, muttered a few curse words in Spanish that Keith couldn't understand, and then looked at the glass as if it had just offended him by taking a sharp jab at his mother. He looked more awake now, muttering _more_ curse words in Spanish until his eyes finally registered Keith's presence. They stared at each other for a moment, a scowl on both their faces. Keith's scowl originated from his confusion whereas Lance's came from the fact he was just beaten up by a glass wall and - well - Keith.

"What are you doing?" they asked in unison, their scowls settling in deeper on to their faces. Keith waited for Lance's answer, refusing to speak first. Mainly because his reason consisted of a secret he didn't want _any_ of Team Voltron knowing the reason he trained so hard until he felt lethargic, let alone Lance. When Lance doesn't answer, Keith rolls his eyes and turns his back to the blue paladin, settling down again, knees pulled up to his chest, watching the stars pass him by as he tries to lose himself in them all over again.

The pattering of Lance's slippers slaps against the metal, his body settling next to Keith's. Keith looks at him for an explanation, but he doesn't get one. He turns his gaze back to the stars, and he stays there for a moment before Lance speaks, almost making Keith jump from the suddenness of it - and the fact that Keith hadn't been expecting an answer to his - their - question.

"Sleepwalking," Lance muttered.

"Huh?"

"You asked what I was doing," stated Lance matter - of - factly, keeping his gaze ahead. "I do it when I miss someone... I go looking for them in my sleep, according to my mom. Right now, I miss my mom."

"Oh," is all Keith responds with. There isn't anything better he can respond with. He can't say things like: me, too - same - I get it. There are better people to be talking about this with; Hunk, Allura, Shiro - heck, maybe even Coran. _Way_ better than Keith, anyway, who had no clue what being a family was like, meant or felt like. He had no idea what it was like to know who you were, where you came from. Now, he just literally stares into space, trying to find the words to reassure Lance, but they all sound... _wrong_ and, anyway, why would he comfort Lance with Lance's proclamation that they were rivals, neck and neck. Eventually, he strangles out a small, "sorry,".

He sees Lance shrug from the corner of his eye, perhaps not wanting to continue to conversation any further. Keith is relieved at the thought - and he immediately wishes he wasn't, hating himself for it - that Lance decided not to continue the conversation. That is, until, he realises Lance was only composing himself before he let out a shaky breath. He shifts his head to the skinnier boy next to him, finding that he's fighting back tears. Keith has no idea what to do except feel uncomfortable. He says nothing, waiting for Lance to regain his composure. He feels guilty that he wasn't able to do something, but honestly, no one could really blame him. He hasn't really had many people cry on him. In fact, he hasn't really had _anyone_ cry on him. Still, he stays next to him, glued to the floor. He wants to leave, but something is stopping him from getting up and leaving Lance to cry. He wants to go and wake up Hunk, he would know what to do, but again, something is stopping them.

He outstretches his hand to almost rest it on Lance's shoulder before he feels stupid and yanks it back, his signature scowl settling in on his face. Eventually, Lance takes a deep breath, gazing up and through the window. Keith watches him, waiting for... **something** , anything, really. He waits for a smart remark, a curt question as to why Keith is staring. Instead, his face contorts into confusion as to points to Keith's face. _Oh, great, not this again,_ he thought. Keith really had gotten sick of Lance making fun of him for his mullet. However, Keith never got what he was expecting.

"What the hell is with your eyes?" he asked, point blank. Keith blinked, hand instinctively reaching up to cover one of his eyes. "They're vi-"

Lance was cut short by a loud, booming voice that belonged to a certain Altean princess. If there was a sound that Allura could create, Keith decided that it would be the sound of wind in a storm from the way her voice echoed off of the walls of a ship. Both boys stood up simultaneously only to share a glance through peripheral vision as if they agreed that the _look_ on Allura's face could kill. Honestly, if it could, Keith believed that they could have just defeated the Galran Empire by just having Allura stare them all the down with the look she was giving Lance and Keith right now. Shiro stood beside her, arms crossed over his chest, a twin expression of Allura's plastered on his face.

"What are you two doing?!" she demanded, anger and frustration lacing her voice. "How do you expect to fight Zarkon when you're exhausted?!"

After a thorough lecturing from Allura and Shiro, both Lance and Keith retreated to their beds in silence as Allura and Shiro followed behind them, checking they were in bed and asleep as if they were five year old children.

Lance's almost statement ran through his head. He knew what he had been about to say. It was a statement that he had heard all his life and one reason why one of the foster homes had refused to take him in, calling him the devil child. Keith had rolled his eyes at that statement, his handler dragging him away from the house full of chattering, laughter and too much noise.

" _Your eyes,_ "

" _What about them?_ "

" _They're violet._ "

His eyes were a brilliant violet that were much mistaken for a deep shade of blue on first glance. However, in some lights like the one he had been in with Lance, they were clearly a glimmering violet. Keith had no idea how to describe it himself, but he supposed that, maybe, they just _looked_ violet in certain lights. ( _He could try and convince himself all he liked, but some people were more observant than others, noticing his violet eyes more than others; they were either surprised, awed or disgusted and it made Keith feel like an alien, an outsider of something, when they were disgusted_ ).

* * *

He awoke the next morning with sleep in his eyes, watching as everyone shuffled around the table. Shiro was leaning over Pidge as they showed him the Earth clock that they had made, Shiro's face in a sort of proud awe. Hunk was chatting away animatedly with Lance whilst they both shovelled spoonfuls of green goo into their mouths. Allura was sitting at the end of the table, Coran standing beside her as she joined in on Lance and Hunk's conversation.

He wondered if this is what a family looked like.

That burning question appeared in his mind again, making him plaster his signature scowl on to his face as he sat in the seat across from Pidge, a plate of goo in front of him.

"Looks like you were wrong, Keith," stated Pidge proudly as they showed them the Earth clock, **08:00AM** in bold writing. Keith hummed a low groan as he placed a spoonful of goo into his mouth, staring at the wall as the question swam around in his mind. He wondered who his father was; who his mother was; where the violet of his eyes came from all the while the mindless chattering of the people around him made him think of a family; the closest thing he could think of relating to a family from the stories he had heard from Lance, Hunk and Pidge.

He never decided to give into that question; abandoned it, left it out in the cold and dark places of brain to focus on other things.

What the cause of his perpetually cracking wrist was, how he was going to bond with his lion ( beyond banging on a force field and screaming that he was doing so ), if he could beat his time in the training deck, how they were going to defeat the Galra.

Eventually, he would stop silently asking himself whether his parents had died or abandoned him, where he came from, who his parents were, whereabouts in Korea he lived before his mother died.

Eventually, he would stop silently asking himself who he was.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: ralligay


End file.
